Marks, Lee And Lamb Put In Late Flyers To Top World Challenge Practice 2 At St. Pete

The final moments of this afternoon's second Pirelli World Challenge Championships

practice for the Acura Sports Car Challenge presented by Pirelli saw new leaders vault to the top of the time charts in all three classes.

Justin Marks, of Davidson, N.C.; Andy Lee, of Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Todd Lamb, of Atlanta, Ga. led GT, GTS and Touring Car practice, respectively, on the streets and runways surrounding the Albert Whitted Airport in downtown St. Petersburg. The late afternoon session was halted by a red flag for more than half of its 30-minute time limit after Ric Bushey, of Virginia Beach, Va., crashed his No. 51 Nissan/SPL Pro/Sparco/Motul Nissan 370Z in Turn 9.

Bushey escaped injury, but the car suffered significant damage to both sides and front and rear suspension. He and his SFR Enterprises team were hopeful they would be able to obtain the parts needed to make repairs, but Bushey was not optimistic about his prospects for the remainder of the weekend.

The green flag flew for the final time with slightly more than four minutes remaining. All three of the class leaders credited the red flag as a key contributor to their ability to turn traffic-free laps, which made all the difference.

Marks viewed his quick time of 1:16.921 (84.242 mph) in the No. 46 GoPro/Mooresville Motorplex Porsche 911 GT3 from TruSpeed Motorsports as a confidence booster, especially in light of the fact that it's been seven years since he last competed in World Challenge. In fact, today's two practice sessions were the first laps Marks had ever turned at St. Pete.

"It was pretty good," Marks said. "We struggled a little bit in the first practice. We had some problems and couldn't really get it rolling. We made some ride height adjustments and some shock adjustments for that second session that really brought the car to life. We've got one or two more things we still have to work on, but clear track here is so important. These guys have done a great job preparing the car and it just goes to show. I've never been to this racetrack before and I haven't been in a Porsche in a couple years. It just shows the level of preparation that TruSpeed has got. I'm excited to be here and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

Second quickest in GT was Mike Skeen, of Charlotte, N.C., in the No. 2 Hawk Performance Chevrolet Corvette. Skeen posted a best lap at 1:17.385 (83.737 mph) in the afternoon. He also led the morning session. James Sofronas, of Newport Beach, Calif., was third in GT in the afternoon with an identical lap to Skeen's at 1:17.385 (83.737 mph) in the No. 14 Global Motorsports Group Porsche 911 GT3.

Dino Crescentini, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., was fourth in GT at 1:17.565 (83.543 mph) in the No. 4 StopTech Porsche 911 GT3, and Johnny O'Connell, of Flowery Branch, Ga., rounded out the top five in the No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac CTS-V Coupe. O'Connell's best lap was a 1:17.659 (83.442 mph).

Lee turned in his best lap of the day in the No. 20 Best IT Chevrolet Camaro on the checkered flag lap at 1:22.780 (78.280 mph). He also benefited from virtually clear racetrack to top the charts.

"We knew that Jack Baldwin was really fast, so I thought if we could get within his time in the last couple of laps, then that would be good," said Lee. "There was a really long red-flag period, so while we were sitting in pit lane, I was like, 'Yeah, I might be able to throw down one good flyer. I might have enough time and traffic willing.' That's what happened. I got just enough space. The Touring Car guys in front of me were awesome. They worked really well with me and got out of the way at just the right moments and I was able to put one good lap all together. It's just practice. It doesn't mean anything yet, but it's good to know that the Best IT Camaro is on pace."

Baldwin, of Marietta, Ga., wound up second in GTS at 1:22.989 (78.083 mph) in the No. 68 Team Hot Wheels/GTSport/PNR Porsche Cayman S, followed by Justin Bell, of Los Angeles, Calif., who was third in the No. 50 eBay Motors Ford Mustang Boss 302S. Bell's best time was a 1:23.213 (77.872 mph).

RealTime Racing teammates Nick Esayian, of San Diego, Calif., and Peter Cunningham, of Milwaukee, Wis., completed the GTS top five. Esayian was fourth at 1:23.544 (77.564 mph) in the No. 34 Acura/HPD/RealTime Racing Acura TSX and Cunningham posted the fifth-quickest time at 1:23.615 (77.498 mph) in the No. 42 Acura/HPD/RealTime Racing Acura TSX.

Like the GTS leader, Lamb also threw down his best time on the final lap of the session to top the Touring Car time charts in the No. 71 National Karting News/HPD Honda Civic Si for Compass360 Racing. Lamb's time was a 1:27.628 (73.949 mph).

"It went pretty well today," said Lamb. "We went out in the first session and it's my first time here, so I had to learn the track and learn the car. It's my first time with Compass and the first time in this Honda, so I had a lot of learning to do this morning. We just took our time and didn't push things too hard. We made some setup changes for this afternoon. The guys did a great job getting the car ready and we went out and did well. I was happy to finally get a clear lap after sitting there and waiting for the red flag clean up. Overall, I think the car came to us a little bit. I'm very happy with it."

Michael Cooper, of Syosset, N.Y., wound up second in Practice 2 after leading the first session in the No. 03 MAZDASPEED Motorsports MAZDASPEED3. Cooper's best afternoon time was a 1:27.950 (73.678 mph). Robb Holland, of Denver, Colo., was third in Touring Car at 1:27.967 (73.664 mph) in the No. 70 StopTech/Honda/HPD Honda Civic Si.

Patrick Seguin, of Clarence Creek, Ontario, Canada, was fourth in Touring Car at 1:28.157 (73.505 mph) in the No. 80 Capsparts.com/Theberge Homes Volkswagen Golf GTI and Anthony Rapone, of Thornhill, Ontario, Canada filled out the Touring Car top five. Rapone posted a best lap at 1:28.194 (73.474 mph) in the No. 81 Durabond Racing Honda Civic Si.

Saturday's schedule at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg calls for a 45-minute Pirelli World Challenge Championships qualifying session beginning at 8:00 a.m. ET. The first race of the Acura Sports Car Challenge presented by Pirelli doubleheader rolls off from a standing start at 6:00 p.m. ET.

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by: kinwater

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